Bandits rally in third past IceGators

Published on January 17, 2003 under ECHL (ECHL)
Louisiana IceGators News Release


Lafayette, LA – Mike Vigilante's second goal of the third period proved to be the game-winner with 4:33 left, as the Jackson Bandits rallied from a two-goal third period deficit for a 5-4 win over the Louisiana IceGators at the Cajundome. Reagan Rome, Dave Stewart and Andrei Lupandin each added two assists for the Bandits, who started off a 20-game, two-month road trip with their second win in four games.

Bobby Brown scored twice and Shawn McNeil added three helpers for the IceGators, who fell to 8-3-3 in their last 14 and dropped into a first-place tie with Mississippi, a 3-2 victor over Baton Rouge tonight. Louisiana and the Sea Wolves each have 54 points.

Kenny Corupe and Semir Ben-Amor also scored for Louisiana, while Kyle Kettles turned aside 32 shots. Jackson goalie Adam Hauser had to stop just 19 shots for the victory.

The last five games between these teams have all been decided by one goal. Jackson leads the ECHL with 13 wins in one-goal contests.

After Corupe gave the IceGators a 4-2 lead on a two-man advantage early in the third, the Bandits scored twice within a 17-second span just more than five minutes later to tie the game.

Vigilante got Jackson within one after an IceGators turnover at mid-ice. Lupandin grabbed the puck and led an odd-man rush into the Louisiana zone. Lupandin got the puck to Vigilante, who faked and went backhand to get the puck over Kettles at the 5:53 mark.

With 6:10 gone, Eric Fortier knotted the score at 4-4. Lupandin won a battle in the corner and slid a pass to Fortier in the middle of the right circle. Fortier walked in on Kettles and lifted a shot high over the netminder's glove.

The score stayed that way until Vigilante's game-winner, his seventh goal in 28 games with Jackson. Vigilante took a pass from Dave Stewart and fired a shot on Kettles. The puck went off Kettles' pads right to Vigilante, who squeezed the puck by the netminder.

Any possible comeback was thwarted with Jackson's sixth power play late in the third. After Daniel Goneau was taken down by a pair of Bandits, Rome took off up ice on a breakaway. Rome was hooked off the play by Branislav Kvetan at the last moment, and the IceGators were shorthanded until there were 35 seconds left.

The teams collected behind the Jackson goal for several minutes after the buzzer sounded, with Louisiana's Bruce Richardson and Jeff Worlton each picking up 10-minute misconducts.

"We have to be able to close out teams in the third period in our own building," said IceGators head coach and vice president of hockey operations Dave Farrish. "We looked like we were out of step the whole game. To get outshot almost two to one in our own building (37-23), that's surprising for us."

Louisiana fell in regulation for the first time when trailing after two periods (17-1-3). One of the three shootout losses was also at home, when the IceGators lost a two-goal third period lead to Arkansas on December 7. The loss was just Louisiana's fifth in regulation when leading after two periods in Farrish's three-year regime (88-5-4).

Kettles turned aside all 14 shots in the first period until his offense (four shots in the first period) heated up on a cold night in Lafayette. The IceGators put three goals up on the board in the stanza despite having to kill off four minor penalties. Jackson, meanwhile, wasn't penalized until the final 1:09 of the period.

Louisiana finally solved Hauser 2:11 into the second, as Brown scored his first of the night. Nathan Rempel fired a shot from the right circle that Hauser got a piece of. The puck rebounded to Brown in the slot. Brown, facing center ice with Fortier draped all over him, tipped the puck in backwards between his legs while falling into the crease.

Ben-Amor's second goal of the season, on a nifty 2-on-1 with Richardson, made it 2-0 at the 6:20 mark of the middle period. Richardson skated up the left wing and allowed Ben-Amor to catch up and create space. Richardson slipped a pass by Sean Gillam, and Ben-Amor wound up on a one-timer that beat Hauser high glove side.

Sean O'Connor's third goal of the season, on the Jackson power play, made it 2-1 with 10:06 gone in the second. With Richardson in the box for interference, Scott Kelman led the Bandits charge up ice. Kelman sent a pass between defenders off Brown's stick, and the puck then glanced off Fortier's stick. The puck came to O'Connor, who beat Kettles with a quick wrister.

The IceGators went back up 3-1 on an unbelievable passing sequence, capped by Brown's second of the game and 17th of the season. Rod Sarich, named to the All-Star team yesterday, sent a pass from the left wing through traffic a wide open McNeil in the right wing. McNeil set up a pass to a wide open Brown, circling in from the right point, and Brown skated into the circle and let a one-timer go that went five-hole on Hauser.

Jackson got a big chance late in the period. With Richardson already in the penalty box for roughing, the Bandits got 2:38 of a 5-on-3 when Rempel and Louis Mass were both sent for roughing. Jackson needed just 25 seconds of the two-man advantage, as John McNabb took a pass through the crease from Brent Gauvreau and deposited it past a recovering Kettles for his team-best 21st goal of the season.

"We've got to stop taking selfish penalties," said Farrish. "We're putting ourselves above the team."

That tally still left Louisiana with 1:34 of a five-on-three to kill. Rome wound up and fired one from the high slot early in the advantage, but Kettles made the save with his body. Thirty seconds later, Kettles reached out with his glove to stop another Rome bullet.

Jackson got in penalty trouble late in the stanza. First, Darryl Laplante was called for kneeing after sending Richardson hard into the boards. Richardson left for the locker room but returned five minutes into the third period. Then, 5-foot-8 Billy Newson high-sticked the 6-foot-3 Sarich in front of Hauser with Sarich leading the IceGators up ice.

The penalties caught up with Jackson, as Corupe scored a 5-on-3 goal to restore the lead to two just 36 seconds into the third. Goneau sent a pass out of the corner to Corupe, camped out between the circles. Corupe went high glove on Hauser for his 11th goal of the season.

The IceGators finished 1-for-4 on the power play, while Jackson was 2-for-6.

Kettles wasn't forced into much action until Corupe was sent off for roughing at the 7:07 mark of the first. Kettles twice reached out with his blocker to stop a centering pass from Brent Gauvreau at close range. Gauvreau had an open man at the other side of the crease.

At the end of the power play, McNabb launched a wrister from the top of the left circle. Kettles turned the shot aside, then had to reach back and make an impressive return save on a Fortier shot.

The IceGators went on the power play at the 11:28 mark, with Kelman in the box for hooking. Richardson got a good shot in on a 2-on-1 early on, but Hauser made the stop on just Louisiana's fourth shot of the game and the IceGators' only shot of the power play – and last of the period.

Louisiana had another power play inside five minutes, but once again didn't get a shot. Kettles even stopped Newson from the right circle with a glove save shorthanded with 3:12 remaining.

The IceGators got their first shot of the second just 18 seconds in, but Hauser swallowed a Kvetan shot from the right point.

Louisiana hosts Arkansas on Sunday at 4:05 p.m., with a post-game skate with the players to follow.

"We've got to stop the flow right now," said Farrish. "We've got a week off until our next game (with the All-Star break), so it's certainly a big game for us."

The IceGators have lost their last two games versus Arkansas, both in North Little Rock.

Gator Bites:

The IceGators will scrimmage the Jr. IceGators (7-8 year old division) at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the HockeyPlex, following their 9:30 a.m. practice.

The team helped adopt out three cats during the second period. The cats, rescued from euthanasia by IceGators employee Katie Christiansen, all found good homes.

The teams met for the final time until March 8. Then, the IceGators play the Bandits in five of their final 12 games.

McNeil assisted on three goals, giving him 53 points this season. McNeil has 50 or more points in all four of his pro seasons.

Jackson is 4-for-42 on the power play against Louisiana this season.

Rempel skated in his 100th game with the IceGators, becoming the 19th player in team history to play 100 games with the team.

Louisiana's Cal Benazic was a scratch with flu-like symptoms.

Ben-Amor's other goal was November 22 against Baton Rouge, the game-winner in a 3-2 victory over Baton Rouge.

Richardson moved into 16th place on the team's all-time assist list with 63, snapping a tie with Aaron Boh.

Louisiana hadn't yielded a power play goal in its last 14 chances at home until O'Connor's score.

Brown has 10 points (4g, 6a) in his five-game point streak, tying his season-high. Brown has three different five-game point streaks this season.

McNeil has seven in the last four games.

Matt Bialota, primarily a Northern Conference referee, called an IceGators game for the first time this season.

The IceGators fell to 14-3-2 at home this season.

Louisiana is 17-1-4 when yielding one or less power play goals this season, but the IceGators are 6-9-4 when allowing two or more.

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ECHL Stories from January 17, 2003


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